


Interview with a Templar

by wyrdo



Series: Overcome by Events [2]
Category: Dragon Age (Video Games), Dragon Age II
Genre: Cullen Rutherford Has Issues, F/M, Harrowing, Lust, Mages and Templars, Masturbation, Meredith and Orsino have bigger issues, POV Cullen Rutherford, The Gallows, Unrequited Crush
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2017-08-10
Updated: 2017-08-10
Packaged: 2018-12-13 12:30:41
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 3,411
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/11759940
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/wyrdo/pseuds/wyrdo
Summary: Cullen Rutherford may not trust mages, he may not really be willing to befriend one yet, however he is a good person, stuck between Meredith and Orsino.Meredith wants Bethany Hawke sent, unprepared and unrested to her Harrowing.Orsino refuses to allow it.If Cullen doesn't sign the document, Meredith will get a Knight Lieutenant to do it and can override Orsino's arguments.  Plus Cullen will face demotion or sanction. If he does, the most interesting woman he's met since he got off the ship to Kirkwall could die.What can he do?





	Interview with a Templar

**Author's Note:**

> I'm not sure this really ranks as "Mature", but it's more "Mature" than my other stuff. There's like. Erections and Breasts.

**Kirkwall, 21 Wintermarch, 9:32 Dragon**

Something was not right. Knight Captain Cullen Rutherford felt the palpable fear in the air at the Gallows. He saw it in the eyes of the mages, cast down and away from him, and from every Templar. He saw the way conversations stopped, both between mages and between Templars when he entered a room. He saw it in the way he never saw mages and Templars talking to each other, just issuing and agreeing to orders. He saw the way the dining hall appeared split down the middle, mages on one side and Templars on the other.

He saw it, but he was helpless to do anything about it. Besides, he had his own problems, anyway.

When he reached once to help a mage with her books and she cringed he decided a few extra rounds of his own were in order. He wished he could do more, but Meredith would not agree to an investigation and the mages themselves were silent and fearful while the Templars were silent and sullen.

Into the midst of that headache, Meredith slammed into his office, followed by Orsino, babbling about too soon and needing additional assessments. She placed papers on his desk and he read the first few lines. His eyebrows attempted to join his hairline as he looked up at them both.

"Are you certain, Knight Commander?" Meredith's eyes narrowed at him for questioning her orders, but she'd tried to make him do something before that he didn't agree to and she knew that he would nag at it until she gave him a good enough reason. Before she spoke though she pressed her lips together, rendering them even thinner.

"She's been here three days, all of which spent either in isolation, or interrogation. She was an apostate for what, 10 years at the very least. Can she be ready for a Harrowing?"

"Thank you Ser Cullen, that is what I said." Orsino stepped up next to Meredith, looking up at her and then back at Cullen."

"Does it matter?" Meredith asked, having apparently decided to try her normal bully tactic first. "If she falls to a demon, then one less mage to feed." Meredith spat. "You are both blinded by her looks and the gentle nature she presents. She is an apostate and probably a blood mage and I will not risk her polluting the Gallows."

"Standard Procedure Entry KT99.341 states that a mage must be certified ready for harrowing by the First Enchanter and the Knight Commander or her second." Cullen said looking at Orsino and seeing him cross his arms and nod his head.

"And 341.1 specifies that this requirement can be bypassed by the agreement of three ranking templars in cases of circle security or the absence of either the first enchanter or the knight commander"

"You are calling this Circle Security? I was there when we collected her, she offered no fight or offense. She accepted the binding of her magic and we didn't even have to restrain her." Though when the binder had clamped on she had gasped and fallen against him which had no real part in this conversation.

"Her sister attacked you!" Meredith spat. "You should have had the guard take her in."

"The Captain of the Guard, and the mage herself both spoke to Hawke and convinced her to stand down from her threat." Besides, he probably had deserved the punch she gave him, and she certainly wasn't wearing steel armor, so it hadn't even left a permanent mark. The loose tooth wasn't really relevant, like all things, it would heal. "She is not her sister's keeper. I'm not sure anybody is."

Cullen wasn't arguing because the woman was beautiful, at least he didn't think he was. He was arguing for two reasons. Serah Hawke of three days ago, was just made Ser Hawke, the newest noble in Kirkwalls' Hightown and Meredith may not care about burning bridges, but Cullen did. And he had seen the mage enough to know that she was the one who gentled her sister. She should be watched, he knew that, but she was not a threat to Circle Security.

He was absolutely NOT arguing because he owed Ser Hawke. He turned over the paper. Meredith had already garnered the signature of Knight Lieutenant Linnet. Toady that she is. If he signed this paper, Bethany Hawke could die

"I will need to interview her myself. This is rather out of the ordinary..."

Meredith moved as if to speak, Cullen cut her off. "Would you like the Seekers called in to investigate whether an independent decision was made by all parties?"

Her mouth shut, audibly. She took a seat in the only other chair in the tiny cell of an office. Cullen looked at Orsino who had a plea in his eyes.

"Is your most recent assessment in this packet?" Cullen flipped through the papers.

Orsino nodded.

"Give me five minutes, and then send her in." Orsino stepped out the door.

When Meredith didn't move from the chair, Cullen looked at her closely. He was not above using his own looks to his advantage. He lowered his voice and leaned forward. "Meredith, My decision must be independent. If you wish to invoke 341.1, our decision will be under Seeker scrutiny. This must be completely above board."

Meredith looked at him for a moment then stood. "I must be certain as well. You will leave the door open."

Cullen nodded and Meredith stepped out. He then began to read through the assessment. It spoke of Apprentice Hawke as a devout person who had had an excellent teacher. The problem was, it was a little too glowing. Cullen could see why Meredith might think the First Enchanter was biased.

Almost exactly five minutes later, there was a quiet knock on the wooden door jam of his office. He looked up. The young lady in the doorway was slightly flushed, as if from running...

 _Young lady_  he scoffed She was his own age for pity's sake, and he was a Knight Captain. Had she been raised in the Circle as she should have been, she'd likely be a Senior Enchanter.

"Knight Captain," she said simply, clearly slightly out of breath, but not heaving. Which was probably a good thing, she was still (perhaps again?) in the clothes she'd arrived in. The outfit was both entirely Ferelden and rather shocking to be honest. If he had been pressed he'd have to describe it as "A weird cross between Farmer, a Battle Mage, and a Rivaini Pirate Queen." The tunic and trouser "pinion" style resembled one he'd only seen in Ferelden. Her trousers and sleeves were a greenish tan. At front and back, the tunic was reinforced with fine silverite chainmail which for some reason stopped right below her chest. The bodice itself was leather and bared far too much shoulder not to mention being far too tight for his comfort. Cullen forced his eyes away from her chest but not before she caught him and looked away, flushing slightly darker. He focused on the jaunty red scarf around  her throat which seemed an afterthought, not as protection, but perhaps...fashion?

The girl...woman had a similar coloring to her sister, and a resemblance, but where Hawke's look were angular, Bethany's face was more square. Like his own mother's had been, like his sister's probably was by now. Where Hawke was blue eyed, this woman's resembled those of a doe.

"You are Ferelden." he began lamely.

"I am." she answered, her eyes moving to the window behind him.

After a wistful sigh that he felt in his gut, Bethany Hawke sat up straight, putting further strain on that bodice and a corresponding one in his toes. He knew he had blushed, but the mage looked him in the eye.

"I was most recently of Lothering." she said her voice sounding so low "But we moved around a lot." Her breath hitched and she wiped her eye. "To protect me from notice."

A noise went up outside the door. Orsino and Meredith were face to face, both speaking just slightly above normal voice. Cullen sighed.

Bethany twisted in the chair, giving Cullen another view of her breasts' dedicated attempts to spill from her bodice. His breeches became slightly tight. He gulped and thought about Jumping into the pond in autumn, about Polo scores, about anything other than this mage's "assets" and what he might enjoy doing with, and to them.

What in the name of the void was wrong with him? It was like being a kid again. Like watching Ethelin Surana smile when she saw him looking at her.

"Are they always like that?" She asked, then caught his flush and his pained look. Her eyes hardened to points.

"I am afraid they are. It's easier just to ignore them, so we might get this concluded by a reasonable time." Cullen said, his eyes on the paper in front of him. On anything other than Bethany Hawke.

"I do not know what you intend for this interview Ser Knight" the mage said to him, making Ser Knight sound more like Pond Scum. "But I have no intention of..." She trailed off as Cullen jumped.

"I assure you, Apprentice" Cullen responded, making Apprentice sound more like Darkspawn. "My goal is to independently assess your readiness for a very important ritual. Any of... that sort of thing would be considered to affect my independence in this decision."

Cullen leaned back in his chair. His eyes on hers. Largely because putting them anywhere else made it too easy put them where they ought not to be. Her eyes widened, then softened. The funny thing is, he was somewhat glad she had fought back. She had revealed that she was strong willed, like her sister. If she wasn't, this place would crush her soul.

"Are you aware of what the Harrowing is?" Cullen asked her watching her face and body language.

Bethany's eyes narrowed again, but did not harden. "It is a ritual that serves as a transition from Apprentice to Enchanter." she said.

He waited.

"Ser Knight" at least this time it did not sound like she was comparing him to the ground in a pig sty "I do not know what you expect me to say. I just told you everything you will find in an Apprentice's guide book about the Harrowing." She leaned toward him to finish her statement, her voice low and painfully sexy. "If I knew anything else, it would not behoove me to tell you."

Cullen looked down at the parchment in front of him and shifted in his chair. She was smart too. She saw the question for the test it was. He found himself liking her even more as a person and not just a good looking woman.

He continued to fire questions at her, attempting to catch her in a lie or determine that she had practiced forbidden magics. She answered gently and seemingly honestly. Her words were chapter and verse from the Apprentice Mage's Catechism.

When he was satisfied, he turned the questions to less technical things. Bethany Hawk might be a spitfire like her sister, but unlike Hawk, Bethany was deeply faithful, knowledgeable, and a gentle soul. He had been lied to by the best, and she had seemed quite honest with him.

She was also unfairly beautiful. Ridiculously, unfairly, cruelly beautiful.

He failed to see her as a threat to Circle security, but Meredith had a wild hare up her bum and if he didn't sign the paperwork, she would find a different Knight Lieutenant to do it and shove the girl into an early Harrowing anyway.

He'd presided over Harrowings where the mage was less prepared for it, and those had been agreed to by a First Enchanter.

He would lay odds that if Orsino was not so much younger than most First Enchanters, this formerly wild apostate would be First Enchanter within five years.

"Thank you Apprentice Hawke. I believe our interview is concluded. Please show the First Enchanter in and wait with Meredith."

Bethany nodded and stood, stretching to relieve the pain of sitting for so long. Cullen kept his syes on the pages on his desk. But he had excellent peripheral vision and while he didn't have all the detail, he saw enough to make sitting in this chair, in this armor, somewhat painful.

It was what he deserved for lusting after a mage so he held still, allowing the seam of his trousers to press painfully against his erection while marking notes on the papers and listing the types of demons in his head and their preferred weapons.  

Bethany stopped in the doorway and looked at him. Eyes soft and trusting. "Thank you Knight Captain." she said simply and stepped out the door. Cullen's eyes did not move, because he was pretty sure the back of her was just as enticing as the front, and splitting a seam now would be improper in so many ways.

The slight figure of Orsino filled his doorway. "Knight Captian," he began.

"Shut the door, and Sit down." Cullen said

The elf shut the door, but instead stepped up to the desk, his eyes hard and his mouth about to launch into whatever he'd nearly shouted at Meredith. Cullen looked up from the papers and directly into the man's childishly large green eyes.

"First Enchanter." he said speaking low and threatening "Sit. Down."

Orsino sat.

Cullen leaned forward, keeping his voice low. "You know as well as I do that even if i don't sign this, The Knight Commander will get her Harrowing. I would like to minimize the consequences, however. A harrowing death of the sister of the Viscount's newest friend will not play well."

Orsino was silent, but the wrinkles at the edges of his eyes were slightly more apparent.  He looked down at his hands, anger clear in his posture.

"Is this assessment accurate?" Cullen tried another tack "Can you honestly say you were not biased or swayed by feelings for the Apprentice?"

Orsino's eyes went flinty. "Yes," he said "and yes."

Cullen nodded. "We are in agreement then." Cullen sighed "Have you any reason to believe that this mage has practiced blood magic or consorted with demons in the past?"

"No." Orsino forced out between clenched teeth.

"In your assessment as First Enchanter, based on what little you know so far, what are her chances of failing this Harrowing?" Orsino leaned back in his chair and assessed Cullen. He had not been expecting that question. He put a finger on his chin, and then folded his hands in his lap as he considered it.

"Apprentice Hawke, appears to have a very strong will." Orsino finally said.

"Her disgust for demons and blood magic was very apparent. Provided she spoke truth." Cullen responded.

"I saw that as well." Orsino agreed, nodding.

"We are in agreement again." Cullen said "In your professional opinion. What are the chances she will fail the harrowing."

Orsino thought for a long moment. "20-30 percent"

"That low?" Cullen asked, nonplussed. It was the lowest chance he'd heard in the last year of harrowings.

Orsino looked embarassed, but nodded.

"What would it take for you to sign this document and keep Meredith from enacting Order 341.1?"

"She needs to spend four hours in the library, sleep for at least eight hours, bathe and change clothes." Orsino said. "And not necessarily in that order."

"Anything else?"

"You supervise the harrowing with me." Orsino said. Cullen's distaste for Harrowings was fairly well known among the mages.

Cullen considered the mage for a full minute, the quill in his hand pressed to the side of his face. "I suspect Meredith would require that one of us supervise." He paused for another second, then nodded

"I agree." Cullen said, holding out a hand to the First Enchanter. When the slight man shook his hand, Cullen sat back again.

"If we are going to do this, let's get Meredith in here."

Orsino opened the door to a livid Meredith. She too stepped into the office, poised to shout.

Cullen smiled at her. "The First Enchanter will sign the papers and keep this out of the the hands of those who need not become involved.  Provided you agree to a few conditions."

She raised an eyebrow, looking like she'd sucked a bad lemon. Cullen waved at Orsino to explain.

"A meal, a bath and a full night's sleep." Orsino began

Meredith made a moue of distaste and looked at Cullen. He nodded and smiled gently at her. "Agreed."

"Four hours library time." Meredith's eyes sparked dangerously but she looked at Cullen who mouthed the word "Seeker" at her.

"Fine." she said through clenched teeth. "But only in the apprentice area, and supervised at all times."

"Of course," Orsino said, a slight smile on his face. "Unharrowed mages do not have privileges at the Enchanters level anyway."

"And the Knight Captain supervises the Harrowing." Orsino ended his list of demands.

Meredith was Cullen's boss. They had spoken at length about abominations. She knew that he hated Harrowings with an uncontainable fire. She looked at Cullen. "You would do that?" she asked him, her voice less angry boss and more boss in need of his help.

"To keep this from escalating?" Cullen said looking in her eyes. "Yes." The Gallows had it's problems, but he didn't need a bunch of inexperienced do gooders suggesting he had outstretched his authority. He had enough problems.

Meredith considered his words. Then she looked at Orsino. Since he met them, these two were constantly on the edge of not so polite disagreement. For once, Orsino appeared submissive. Meredith took that in and appeared to like it.

"Then I will agree to the terms."

Cullen handed his quill to Orsino who stepped around the desk. Cullen stood and moved away from the desk allowing Orsino to bend over and sign the document. Meredith's smile was triumphant.

"I will re-arrange the duty schedule for a harrowing after dinner tomorrow then?" Cullen looked at the Mage and the Templar who both nodded at him. "I'd better get started then. Orsino, take your Apprentice to..he checked a sheet that was tacked to the edge of his desk. Dormitory 421. And have the tranquil on that floor bring her water for a bath and whatever the kitchen has left from dinner."

Orsino nodded and left. Once he had, Meredith moved closer to him. "How did you get him to agree?"

Cullen considered several honest but snarky responses and finally shrugged. "I asked him what he would need to be fully confident knowing you would get your harrowing regardless of how he felt about it. He jumped at the chance to get a few concessions."

Meredith laughed. It changed her face. Then she became serious. "You are too kind to them, but thank you, Cullen. If you need to talk before or afterward, I am here." He felt the weight of her hand on his pauldron, but not the warmth.

He placed his hand over hers and gave her a grateful look. "I appreciate that."

Cullen tried for the next two hours to get things arranged, but even when he wasn't worried about her death, Bethany Hawke would not leave his thoughts.

Exasperated he threw his quill into the corner of the room and stomped back to his own dormitory. He slammed the door and tore his armor off. Then he locked his door and leaned against it, trying very hard not to imagine Apprentice Hawke seated on the edge of his desk, legs wide and eyes dark with lust. In his imagination she touched herself and writhed enticingly.

He tore the tie on his breeches getting them open. He was so hard it hurt. The pain flared as he ran his finger along the indentation from the seam of his trousers, and Cullen moaned quietly. This wasn't going to go away by itself, he decided and gave in to the need for release.

His release was followed by waves of crushing guilt. What was wrong with him? He could not take advantage of his position over this mage. He would not, he promised himself. He prayed to the maker to take away his sin.

That night the demons who invaded his dreams wore a new face.


End file.
